Unibet downplays Swedish TV advertising records

The Group Head of Communications at Kindred Group has downplayed figures released by Sifo Advertising Measurements, which showed that Unibet was the top gambling operator for TV advertising spend in Sweden during the first 11 months of 2016.

The figures showed that whilst state monopoly Svenska Spel spent big on Swedish advertising platforms with a total spend of just under SEK 243m, Unibet topped the list of operators. In fact, the group ranked fourth across all industries with an outlay of SEK 270m, which accounted for 1.5% of all TV marketing in the country.

However, Alexander Westrell downplayed the figures to TotallyGaming.com by saying: “We are aware of the TV advertising spend. However, it is important to bear in mind that the figures relate to TV spend alone.

“If you put these into a greater advertising context looking at the entire marketing mix, the state monopoly Svenska Spel far exceeds the online companies, as this will include around 6,000 betting shops, approximately 6,600 casino machines at restaurants, product placement in TV4’s morning show, dedicated lotto-drawings on TV and sponsorship of the Swedish Football Association.

“If you include this in the total marketing spend, which is a more accurate way to measure advertising spend, then Svenska Spel remains the largest gambling advertiser in Sweden.

“We do however look forward to a re-regulated Swedish gambling market where licensed operators can operate on a level playing field, and thereby spread marketing costs across several channels instead of only being referred to a few commercial TV channels.”

Totally Gaming says: Kindred Group has spent a lot of money on TV advertising in Sweden, but Svenska Spel remains the largest overall gambling advertiser in the country. This might change as Sweden is expected to update the industry in March regarding a plan to liberalise its gambling market.